What to do on St. John for 5 Days
St. John is a fantastic Caribbean getaway. A hidden gem of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John is secluded, rustic, and has perfect beaches compared to its neighbors.
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How to Get to St. John
The US Virgin Islands consists of three islands, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. St. John is the secluded, more rustic of the three and perfect for those wanting an escape to gorgeous beaches.
When you arrive at the airport in St. Thomas, find the taxi stand at the exit. There is only one taxi company that operates here and it’ll be easy to spot because men are waiting outside to organize you into the correct van.
Ask for a taxi to Red Hook, this is the ferry departure point for ferries to Coral Bay on St. John. It should cost around $20 per person (at least in a group of three, maybe it’ll be more if you are by yourself). The taxi service drops off other passengers along the way towards Red Hook, but the ride will take about 30 to 40 minutes. Once you’re at the ferry port, you can buy a ticket online or in person for $9 per person each way.
The ferry takes just about 10 minutes to get across to Coral Bay on St. John.
How Long to Spend in St. John
You can opt for a minimum of 3 rushed days on St. John to quickly sample its charm or extend your visit to a month during the summer season. However, a 5-day itinerary on St. John often offers the perfect balance between leisure and adventure to make the most of your time off.
In five days, there is ample time to explore secluded beaches, hike scenic trails, and immerse oneself in the island’s rustic beauty. If you choose to stay longer, you can also go on day trips to the British Virgin Islands and check out St. Thomas or St. Croix.
Many things on the island are closed during the hurricane season (aka off-season) which is typically between June and November. We visited in early October and although we had a great time because the beaches were relatively empty, some of the restaurants and bars were closed.
Where to Stay on St. John
St. John is a tiny island, and you can get from one part to the other within 40 minutes. Most of the restaurants and shops are located around Cruz Bay—if you plan to eat out, then plan to stay within 10 minutes of Cruz Bay. It’s also close to the beaches and trails.
My mom, sister, and I originally booked this cute Airbnb studio on Gifft Hill. The studio ended up being under repair when we visited and instead, our host upgraded us to the two-bedroom option which was fantastic—especially because it included beach towels, coolers, and snorkel gear. Our host Kim was very responsive as well so I’d recommend one of her Airbnbs (which have a shared pool!)
Expect to spend at least $175 per night. A cute bnb option is the St. John Inn.
Or, if you want to stay right on the beach, then check out Cinnamon Bay Campground (there are also cottages and eco-tents).
If you want a super secluded and local vibe, head towards Coral Bay. Be warned though that if you’re visiting in the off-season, most things are going to be closed around here. Instead, buy groceries in town and make sure you have accommodation with a kitchen.
Besides Airbnbs, there are some crazy, expensive hotels on St. John to go all out. The Westin is popular, as well as Gallows Point.
Renting a car on St. John
You should definitely rent a car on the island. We used the company Sunshine’ Jeep Rental and organized the car in advance via email. You need to have active US car insurance to rent the car. One great thing about using Sunshine is that you can park for free at the rental shop in the evenings so you don’t need to pay for parking in Cruz Bay. This made a huge difference!
For a total of 5 days, I paid $395 and paid about $60 in gas at the end of the trip.
It was easy getting around—just get used to driving on the left-hand side of the street.
Night driving was generally okay as well—there are some street lights but not many once you get out of Cruz Bay.
Jeeps are the most common transport option (especially for tourists!) I’m so glad we got the blue Jeep for our stay.
Where to Eat and Drink
During our St. John itinerary, we did of mix of dining in and out. For breakfast, we picked up yogurt and frozen fruit from the local grocery store. And for lunch, our meal typically consisted of chips and a sandwich, or sometimes just chips… For drinks and dinner, we explored what Cruz Bay had to offer. This flexible approach allowed us to reduce our dining costs and not waste time trying to find restaurants.
Groceries
Get groceries from The Starfish Market, Expect to spend at least 30% more for all the regular groceries you’ll find in the US. The cheapest food options are bread from the bakery, flour tortillas, and frozen pizza (which we bought haha). You can also buy bug spray and sunscreen here. I can’t believe this is where locals would buy their groceries because the price is so high but nothing grows locally except bananas.
Casual options
The Roti King
The Roti King is perfect for classic Caribbean food. Get a roti wrap stuffed with your choice of filling. It’s huge! For lunch on our first day, we picked up a shrimp and a chicken wrap to share and took it back to our Airbnb to eat.
Sam & Jack’s Deli
By the starfish market, visit Sam & Jack’s Deli for your breakfast and lunch options. The breakfast sandwich is delish and you can pick up salads, pickles, bagels, and cookies too. There are some tables set up outside but plan to take your sandwiches to the beach.
Skinny Legs
Located on Coral Bay, be sure to check out this causal sandwich shop during the high season.
Johnny Lime
Johnny Lime is also around Coral Bay and is famous for BBQ—it’s not open during hurricane season.
RainTree Café
RainTree Café is located by the Cinnamon Bay Beach campground area and looks like a great option during your time at the beach.
Lime Out
During the high season, be sure to visit Lime Out—a taco bar in the middle of the bay! For some reason, its Google Maps point has disappeared (I have no idea why), but the Lime Out website still exists which makes me think it’s still open. To get Lime Out there are several boat shuttles. If you want to do a tour for the day that stops at Lime Out, then check out this one that also includes snorkeling or this one.
Dinner
High Tide
I really liked our dinner at High Tide on the water. We had great drinks and good food. We ordered the Conch Fritters, Mahi dish, and the coconut chicken to share.
Drinks
The Painkiller is the drink of choice on the island! Make sure you get one (or three…)
The Windmill Bar
For (probably) the best sunset on St. John, head to The Windmill Bar and get a table on the edge of the restaurant. The food is pretty basic (burgers or tacos) but the drinks and view are totally worth it. you have a pay a small parking fee (why… idk?) but it’s all part of the experience. Check them out for live music and events too.
There is an old windmill on site.
And the sunset is just magical.
The Banana Deck
Unfortunately, the Banana Deck was closed for the season when we visited, but it’s a must otherwise.
Best Beaches on St. John
Beaches are an easy thing to figure out what to do on St. John. The best beaches are on the north part of the island.
Maho Bay
- Free
- Highlights: Swim with sea turtles and sting rays
Maho Bay is the best beach on St. John. It’s the only location where you’re guaranteed to swim with sea turtles.
You need to have some patience to find the sea turtles. You may end up swimming for 15 minutes with no sighting, and then you can follow a sea turtle for 10 minutes or more. Then, you’ll lose track of it again… then you’ll find some more… It’s an exciting cycle! I found the most luck towards the right side of the beach by the buoys. However later, I saw some small sea turtles kinda right by the entrance to the beach.
If you’re here all day, I highly recommend you wear a long sleeve swim shirt because you can easily lose track of time in the water and get sunburned like my mom, sister, and I did…
Do not miss out on visiting Maho Bay when figuring out what to do on St. John.
During the off-season in October, we arrived around 10am and there was plenty of space on the beach. During the high season, you may want to come earlier. At Maho Bay, park along the road or the parking lot here (there is no Google Map point for it, but if you look in satellite mode you’ll see it).
Across the street from the beach, you can find some food and drink stalls.
Cinnamon Beach
- Entrance fee: free
- Highlight: long beach with campgrounds
Cinnamon Beach is the longest beach on St. John and the most developed for tourists. There is a small shop after the parking lot where you can get some cold drinks, snacks, and souvenirs. And, there are some food trucks/stalls beyond the shop on the way to the beach. There are bathrooms and showers too.
It is also home to the Cinnamon Bay Campground where you can rent cottages, eco tents, or even a bare site for your own gear. My grandparents celebrated their retirement back in the good old days…
It seems like you can see sea turtles at Cinnamon Bay, but we weren’t lucky.
Trunk Bay
- Entrance fee: $5 per person between sunrise and sunset.
- If you visit just for sunset pictures you likely don’t need to pay. We visited at 5:30pm and the payment hut was closed.
- Highlight: snorkel the underwater trail.
Trunk Bay is home to the world’s first underwater snorkel trail and the most photogenic beach on St. John.
The underwater trail is such a cool experience. You can rent snorkel equipment right after the entrance. Follow the signs on the beach and then swim out to the left side of the tiny island.
You’ll start to see signs in the water.
Continue along the coral reefs and check out the fish!
There wasn’t much on the right side of the island when I was there and the water was rougher. Although visibility was poor in the morning when we entered, we still managed to see fish and coral so don’t let that discourage you too much.
Across the beach, there are some restaurants and bars.
Trunk Bay is also lovely for sunset.
Francis Bay Beach
Francis Bay Beach. It’s on the other ‘side’ of Maho Bay and you can possibly swim with sea turtles here as well but we didn’t and so left to go back to Maho Bay where it was more guaranteed. However, the beach is pretty and there are picnic tables which was perfect for starting off the day with breakfast.
Other Beaches
Oppenheimer Beach was named after Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who created the atomic bomb. His home still sits on the beachfront. When I visited, beach access was closed from the main road.
For a short trip, I don’t recommend the beaches around Coral Bay. We attempted to visit Lameshur Beach and the road was too rough for my liking (plus it had rained the night before and there was no cell service…) so we went back to Maho Bay instead. However, if you’re up for a 1-2 mile hike, then the beaches around Coral Bay will give you a more off-the-beaten-path vibe.
Sugar Mills and Plantations
During the 18th and 19th centuries, sugarcane plantations thrived on St. John, and numerous mills were established to process the cane into sugar, which was a major economy on the island. There are several small sites to explore across St. John.
There are so many more sites than what I’ve listed below. If you put “plantation” into Google Maps, you’ll get a better idea. These are the sites that I visited or planned to.
Peace Hill Windmill
Stop at Peace Hill Windmill on your way to the beaches. There are a few parking spots available and you can’t spend more than 10 minutes here. Windmills on St. John were mostly used to crush sugar cane. They worked by turning big gears that ground the cane, which squeezed out the juice needed to make sugar.
Cinnamon Bay Plantation Ruins
Across the street from the parking lot at Cinnamon Bay, check out the plantation ruins. You just need 10 minutes to walk around.
If you’re up for a hike, the Cinnamon Bay trail also begins here.
Annaberg Sugar Plantation
The Annaberg Sugar Plantation is a well-preserved sugar plantation on the coast. I learned the most about the sugar mill process from this site because there were informative signs throughout.
The views are so pretty as well.
Reef Bay Sugar Mill Ruins
Although I didn’t visit Reef Bay Sugar Mill Ruins, this historical site is a hike from the main road and has well-preserved buildings.
5 Day St. John Itinerary
You can use my 5-day St. John itinerary to easily plan your trip and decide what to do on St. John.
Day 1: Arrive + Dinner
Morning+ Afternoon
You’ll probably spend the morning and afternoon of your first day getting to St. John.
Then, pick up your car rental and head to the grocery store to stock up on some breakfast and lunch basics.
Get takeaway rotis from the Roti King.
Evening
Depending on how tired you are from traveling, have a chill evening at your accommodation. We chose to stay in and enjoy the sunset from our Airbnb balcony.
Or, start strong by visiting one of the bars or restaurants in Cruz Bay.
Day 2: Beaches and Sea Turtles
Morning
Head out first thing in the morning to Sam & Jack’s Deli to get breakfast sandwiches. Take them to go as you’ll eat them on the beach.
Drive towards Maho Bay. On the way, you’ll pass the famous lookout point over Trunk Bay (around here). This is one of the most photographed beaches! The view is so dreamy (it’s still my phone background).
Once you arrive at Maho Bay, you can set yourself up for the day. We spent 4 hours (!) at Maho Bay eating, reading, drinking some summer ales, and swimming with the sea turtles.
Afternoon
Then, drive to Cinnamon Bay. Stop in the shop to get some cool drinks. We spent about 1.5 hours here.
Then, at 3:30pm, we went back to our accommodation to freshen up for drinks and dinner.
Evening
First, head to Trunk Bay to catch sunset around 5/5:30pm. The payment booth closes at sunset. Enjoy the sunset and take a ton of pictures.
For dinner, head to High Tide.
Day 3: Snorkeling
Morning
Have breakfast at your accommodation or bring it with you to eat on the beach.
First stop at the Peace Hill Windmill.
And then visit the Cinnamon Bay Plantation Ruins.
We visited Francis Bay Beach as it says there are sea turtles here. The beach was pretty empty and there were picnic tables available which was great to have breakfast at.
Although we didn’t see any sea turtles, my sister found a cool starfish.
Afternoon
Then, head to Trunk Bay to complete the snorkel trail.
(We opted for a lazy afternoon and went back to our accommodation to chill in the pool and read. )
Evening
Before sunset, head to Windmill Bar. Even in the off-season, the Windmill Bar is filled with people catching the best sunset on the Island. To get a good location, arrive around 5:15pm.
Be sure to get the classic St. John drink, the painkiller here. It’s so delish!
The sunset is gorgous
Day 4: Exploring Coral Bay
We originally were supposed to spend the day at Trunk Bay but it was raining on and off—the park ranger said visibility wasn’t good so instead we decided to explore the other side of the island around Coral Bay.
Unfortunately in the off-season, many of the restaurants and shops I thought to visit were closed around Coral Bay. However, we still had a fun time exploring.
If you visited Trunk Bay yesterday, then today would be a great opportunity for a day trip to the British Virgin Islands, this one leaves from the Westin. And this tour goes to the famous Jost Van Dyke beach.
Morning
Start the day at Annaberg Sugar Plantation and explore the grounds.
Stop along the viewpoints.
Check out the Coral Bay Gallery and Pirates Cove around here. There was an interesting art space around Skinny Legs.
During the high season, be sure to visit Lime Out—a taco bar in the middle of the bay. We saw it grounded in October—haha.
Afternoon
We attempted to visit Lameshur Beach but because of the rain, I didn’t feel comfortable driving on the muddy roads.
Instead, we went back to Maho Bay to spend more time with the sea turtles.
Evening
Head out to dinner or make a frozen pizza at your accommodation like we did. Or, go on a sunset champagne cruise to toast the end of your trip.
Day 5: Heading back
Morning
We had an afternoon flight from St. Thomas back to DC so we only had 2 hours in the early morning to make use of. Because we didn’t get a chance to visit Trunk Bay to snorkel the day before, even though there was “poor visibility,” we still entered. We spent about an hour on the snorkel trail and then went back to finish packing up.
Afternoon
Return your rental car, get the ferry to St. Thomas, and then get a ride to the airport. We didn’t pre-book an airport transfer. Taxis were waiting for the ferry to arrive so we just took one of them to the airport.
